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Portugal rations gas as tanker drivers strike over pay

Published Mon Aug 12 2019 15:16:23 GMT+0000 (UTC)

by By BARRY HATTON

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal began rationing gas Monday as a precaution after 2,000 truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay, a move that comes at the height of the crucial summer tourist season and during the summer harvest.

The government set a limit at gas stations of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for light vehicles and 100 liters (26.4 gallons) for trucks until further notice as most tanker truck drivers walked off the job.

Some truckers in other sectors of the economy also joined the walkout.

Anticipating gas and fresh food shortages, the center-left Socialist government, which faces a general election in October, is demanding truckers provide a minimum volume of supplies, including to emergency services and airports.

Authorities hope to minimize disruptions by demanding that truckers maintain 75% of normal gas deliveries for public transport systems and 50% to gas stations. All perishable goods and at least half of the normal food supplies must also be delivered to stores.

Some trucks delivering gas Monday had a police escort, and police said they were on standby for the possibility of roadblocks erected by strikers. Few queues were reported yet at gas stations after many people filled their tanks over the weekend.

The government warned that if truckers do not comply with the required level of minimum services, it will enact a rarely-used law to force them back to work. At the same time, the government was preparing to use qualified members of the security forces to deliver gas, if necessary.

The walkout was called by the National Hazardous Materials Drivers' Union, representing about 750 of the country's 900 tanker drivers, and the Independent Goods Vehicles Drivers' Union.

The truckers are demanding staggered annual rises over the next three years in their basic pay and benefits. They want their basic pay to increase from 630 euros ($705) a month to 900 euros ($1,007) by 2022.

Employers say they can't afford the demands by the unionized truckers.

Farmers in Portugal fear they won't be able to get fresh summer produce, such as lettuce and tomatoes, to stores before they go rotten. Dairy farmers have warned they could lose millions of liters of milk a day due to the strike.

Portugal's southern Algarve region, a popular European vacation destination, hosts 1 million tourists in August and tour operators are concerned that some of those holidays could be disrupted.

Signs reading in Portuguese "out of order" are attached to diesel pumps at a gas station serving diesel only to government designated priority vehicles, such as emergency services, in Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)Police officers wait to escort a convoy of fuel trucks leaving a fuel depot in Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)Customers refuel their vehicles at a gas station by a sign reading "Energy Crisis" and announcing a limit of 25 liters per vehicle near Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)The driver of a jet fuel truck gestures to cheering truck drivers standing outside a fuel depot in Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)Police escorts a fuel truck leaving a fuel depot in Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)Tanker truck drivers on strike applaud a fellow driver leaving a fuel depot in Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)The driver of a jet fuel truck gestures to cheering truck drivers standing outside a fuel depot in Aveiras, outside Lisbon, Monday, Aug. 12, 2019. Portugal is rationing gas as a precaution after some 2,000 tanker truck drivers began an open-ended strike over pay on Monday. The government has set a limit of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) for customers at gas stations until further notice. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)